Alex Francavilla - Week 14 - Association


(pro tip: listen to the songs while reading my blog!)

“Clair de Lune” by Claude Debussy

You’ve heard this piece before. A hauntingly beautiful composition, no other piece could truly capture the delicate spirit of the “clair de lune,” the “light of the moon.”


What fueled my love for this piece was the deprivation of tempo control from my previous piano experiences. Nearly every single other piece I had memorized—willingly or not—involved in no small part learning to play the piece at its designated tempo; often I would continue practicing weeks or even months after I had fully memorized the piece just to bring my speed up. Clair de Lune is unique in the sense that it truly has no intended tempo. Some play it as written, at a slow, methodical andante in perfect 9/8 time. Debussy himself plays it noticeably faster and with very deliberate tempo rubato (“stolen time”), where the tempo is varied freely throughout certain sections for the sake of emotional impact. 


Out of every single song I’ve ever played on the piano, Clair de Lune is by far my most memorable. When playing it, however, something slightly strange occurs; starting at measure 51, around 4 minutes into the piece during the culmination of emotions, the concept of the character Basil from the indie game Omori unconsciously appears in my mind.


Now, you may ask yourself, why does this happen? Well, my fellow reader…


…


“Liebestraum” No. 3 by Franz Liszt

The most prominent part of this piece is an intensely passionate, short lived climax of emotions that is undoubtedly beautiful on its own. But there is a reason why it's placed so far from the end—indeed, a “love dream” must both begin and end in reality. 


This piece is difficult. In typical Liszt fashion, Liebestraum conveys a dizzying amount of emotions and feelings at the cost of the fingers of pianists across the world (see also: La campanella, Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2). When I stopped taking piano lessons almost a year ago, I had memorized the piece, yes, but I could not match the tempo needed to truly bring out all of the emotions in this incredible composition. And it was, and still is, truly a shame I hadn’t pushed myself further to be moderately satisfied with my skills in playing the piece. 


The phenomenon appears in a slightly different manner; at measure 31, before the climax, there is a particularly tricky note progression that, despite its personal legacy of frustration and terror, inexplicably apparates the idea in my mind of a golden chest of sunken treasure.


...


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As much as I crave to truly understand why this happens, as much as I want to psychoanalyze the idea of Basil from Omori and their potential relation to that exact measure in Clair de Lune, I think it might be better to leave it at least slightly ambiguous. It’s fun to think about these completely unrelated memories and ideas being so deeply intertwined in my brain with these emotional piano pieces.


Comments

  1. Tanisha MadhukarApril 8, 2026 at 5:06 PM

    As soon as I clicked the song on Spotify I knew what I was listening to. I, like many others, recognize this song from TikTok as its beginning portion went viral as the background music for a trend. However, as I was reading your blog and continued to listen to the song I really enjoyed its melody. While you were describing the varying tempo I noticed what you were talking about. While it has been a while since I exercised my, limited, knowledge of music theory, I find it’s enough for me to recognize small details like that.

    Music is known to be good at evoking certain emotions, but I find that it triggers certain memories as well. While listening to a certain song I’ll think about a time when I was listening to that song and something major happens. Or, when I study I listen to a certain artist, that way on the test I’ll think of that song and it’ll help me remember what I studied. While this doesn’t work for everyone it’s definitely something that works for me and I find it very fascinating.

    I think the reason you think of Basil from Omori is probably a combination of the two. The way the melody is created and the memories you have regarding it could be working together to create this feeling that reminds you of that certain character. Of course I could be completely wrong, but it would be cool if it’s true.

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  2. Emily NguyenApril 8, 2026 at 7:03 PM

    Alex, I just flunked a quiz on music terms on Monday. But I enjoyed reading that tempo rubato concept, which I find resonates with me personally very much! I’ve always liked music that captures the whole essence of expression, and I think Clair de Lune is a very special piece in this regard. It feels so delicate and emotional due to this aspect, and it is indeed highly memorable.

    My eldest cousin, a decade older than me, would often play this song on his grand piano when I was in elementary. His house was often bathed in light in this extremely nostalgic way. Like, when you see light hitting the ground from high above and in that moment you can already feel nostalgic without the time needing to pass beforehand. The music would sound throughout that house every Saturday I visited, coming from my own piano lessons which I quit early on. He’s a great piano player, but “Clair de Lune” simply brings expressive music to another level. Around 2:43 into the piece I’m currently reminded of Omori as a whole, particularly the more sunny days of the game…

    I hear a lot about playing piano and of course, I see a lot in people practicing it too. But the way you’ve described “Liebestraum” is something I’ll never forget. How you illustrate the images it evokes, and the reality it starts with and ends in—the sunken treasure, like, wow… it all feels so fleeting(?) this way. This song is really intense, and I appreciate the way you’ve connected the striking feelings you get from such soulful songs here.

    ReplyDelete
  3. ShriramApril 8, 2026 at 7:35 PM

    Hi Alex! Admittedly, I didn’t listen to your pro tip on my first read, but I decided to do so this time. I will say, it certainly elevated the experience. Reading about your personal experiences with the piece, especially Claire de Lune, was supplemented by the melody that brought up my own experiences as well—not as vivid as the ones you describe, but certainly noticeable. Thank you for giving me a multimedia experience this week!

    I like how you said it may be nice to leave these associations as slightly ambiguous: we’re always trying to figure out why something happens, how the magician is able to transport the cards between his hands. And sure, knowledge is power. It’s good to know more and learning new things is fascinating. Sometimes, however, I’d prefer to just enjoy the show, as you said. I’d like to listen to music and be reminded of friends and family and characters from Omori. My most important takeaway from your blog is that these magicians are all around us, some even fascinating us with measures of music from the grave.

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